After another few months of trying out giffgaff as my main mobile number, I's giving up on this quirky but badly run mobile network.
Countless giffgaff customers complain about slow or unusable data speeds, and I can agree with them. However, my biggest issue is now the total lack of reliability from this network.
Giffgaff is the worst network that I've experienced from a connectivity point of view. The data speeds have been - in the main - too slow to use for even downloading emails containing images. This week has seen an increase in 4G speeds in my home village, but at work the speeds are slow, and I'm lucky to even get any data connection.
But, this is not the worse of giffgaff's connectivity problems.
I've used giffgaff as a network for about a year and a half, and throughout that time I've experienced dropped calls on a daily basis. Text messages fail to send and must be re-sent multiple times. Sometimes you never know if a text message has been sent or not, so I've resorted to phoning people rather than sending them a text - Hardly what you would expect from a mobile network.
My full giffgaff review is available here http://mobile-networks-uk.weebly.com/mobile-network-reviews.html
So now I'm stuck with the usual dilemma of finding an alternative mobile network!
My PAYG mobile bundles website (http://mobile-networks-uk.weebly.com/) should be my first port of call, after all there is a lot of useful information there about the best value mobile networks in the UK.
However, after fully testing and reviewing numerous mobile networks, I can safely say that the most reliable mobile network for me is Vodafone.
The other UK Mobile Network Operators just aren't up to Vodafone's standard:
Three just doesn't have good enough voice and text coverage. O2 could do better (sorry but giffgaff have tainted my view of O2 somewhat). EE just don't have any coverage anywhere that I've lived.
Normally, I'd just go for a Vodafone contract, but I enjoy saving money, so this isn't as cost effective as I'd like it to be.
The best value mobile networks are the MVNOs (Mobile Virtual network Operators), as they usually offer much greater allocations for less money, which leaves me with a problem: The only really great value MVNO operating on the Vodafone network is Mobile by Sainsbury's, but this operator is closing down in January 2016.
No other PAYG MVNO provides good value (or reliability) on the Vodafone network - so my best option is to transfer my main number back onto a contract.
Talkmobile have the best value plan for me on the Vodafone network, but it's a 12 month contract which isn't great, but it does include 1000 minutes, 5000 texts and 1GB of data for £7.50 a month, which is very good value.
Returning to a contract completely goes against the grain for me, but this 12 month contract provides exactly what I need for a great price. Maybe the networks are realising that PAYG 30 day bundles shouldn't be cheaper than SIM only contracts.
Looks like the mobile industry is changing yet again.
